Letter from the President of the Ho-Chunk Nation

In addition to curbing spending, I am looking at the opportunities we have to increase our revenue. The gaming compact signed in 2003 would have been a great boon to the economy within the Nation, however, the compacts were deemed invalid in May within the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the Panzer/Gard suit against Governor Doyle. As a result, the compact, as stated within its terms, was null and void, canceling our obligation of any payment to the state. Until our compact has been renegotiated, we have not suspended expansion of gaming in other ways. While a referendum in Dane County may have failed in March, in June of last year, our first ancillary gaming site opened in Tomah. Whitetail Crossing Casino opened with 100 slots using the new TITO (ticket in ticket out) technology and has exceeded expectations. We are continuing to explore options to further increase revenues.

At the State level, we received more cooperation from Governor Doyle by his passage of Executive Order #39 affirming the government-to-government relationship between the State of Wisconsin and Tribal Governments in Wisconsin. State agencies are formally directed to recognize our status as another government and to respect us as such through Governor Doyle’s Executive Order. Along the vein of tribal and state relations, my Executive Administrative Officer, Jon Greendeer, serves on the Wisconsin Legislative Special Committee on State and Tribal Relations. While my priority is to do what’s best for the Nation, this cannot be done without acknowledging the need to develop good relationships with other governmental entities that may influence and affect the Nation.

The Executive Branch celebrated several accomplishments in 2004. Working cooperatively with the Legislature, shortfalls in the Contract Health Services budget and winter services were remedied. In the Labor Department, the Zura Honac Business Loan Program replaced the Small Business Development Fund Program, which expanded services available to members. Karen Whiteeagle has devoted much time and hard work to implement the changes from this program conversion as the lone staff person for that program. Thanks to the hard work of Hattie Walker and several other health professionals, the Health Clinic revealed its new TeleHealth Conference feature last fall in conjunction with the La Crosse Health and Science Center Consortium. Our staff will now be able to learn and share new techniques and research findings without having to travel. The technology is also installed at the House of Wellness allowing our two medical facilities to better communicate and provide training.

A major accomplishment of last year was the passing of the Employee Relations Act (ERA). Ratified at the end of the year, the Personnel Department is now developing the training process that will help employees learn their rights as provided through this Act. Personnel Director Toni McDonald and her staff have been putting in long hours working with the Legislature to create and refine this act that was ratified on December 9, which better outlines responsibilities of supervisors, and will hopefully improve the atmosphere within all of our facilities. One major change of this Act is the process of applying Ho-Chunk/Native Preference in our hiring practices. Going into effect on January 31, 2005, we hope to transition from our previous employee policies to our new Employee Relations Act as smoothly as possible.

Throughout 2004, my staff and I traveled to each area and held Presidential Forums to allow tribal members the opportunity to ask questions and express their opinions. These forums allowed me to better understand the wants and needs of the people and guide me in decisions I made. These Presidential Forums will continue in 2005 starting this month and I strongly encourage tribal members to attend these forums so that the Executive Branch under my administration can be as responsive as possible.

In 2005, I plan to continue to work with our Executive Directors to streamline and improve our programs and continue the work of past administrations. It is important that we never take the efficiency and effectiveness of our programs for granted. There will always be room for improvement and a need for change as the world and the needs of our membership changes. We need to move our Nation’s programs toward truly empowering our people and helping them obtain the skills and knowledge to be self-sufficient rather than continuously using our funds and knowledge to only temporarily provide relief.

I also hope to start the process of separating business from administration. This has been a goal of mine since the beginning of my term as your President and many hours have been spent evaluating the current structure and brainstorming ideas on how to achieve this goal. By separating business and government, we can develop a more stable funding process and better our ability to obtain grants, such as the NAHASDA grant we were awarded with earlier this year to improve and expand housing, to fund our programs while gaming profits can be used to advance the Nation. This will not be an easy task and will take some time before it can operate as it should, but with confidence and cooperation, we can do this.

Outside of the financial realm, there are many social issues that must be dealt with in our Nation. Recently, our office sponsored and assisted in coordinating the “Home for the Holidays” program addressing the use of over-the-counter drugs being used by our youth. This program was an excellent example of the cooperation possible between several departments and employees. Programs such as this and others addressing areas of drug and alcohol use, domestic and sexual violence, personal budgeting, parenting skills and healthy habits shall continue and/or intensify. Regardless of what the Nation’s financial status may be, our priority must be our well-being.

Another major goal for this year is language. We are Ho-Chunk only as long as we have our language. While our Language program has developed the curriculum and offered their expertise, utilization of these services is not where it should be. I strongly encourage each of you to use the resources available in learning and advancing your knowledge of the language as well as encouraging those who do know our language to use it. Some of our youth attended the Ho-Chunk Youth Summit this year and one of their major concerns was our culture and language. Our children want to know these things and it is up to the rest of us to encourage their learning and preserve what we have for the future generations of the Ho-Chunk people.

And as always, it cannot be stressed enough how important education and job training is to everyone. We must acknowledge that in today’s world, obtaining good employment is nearly impossible without a college degree or training. The cost of education is unfortunately rising, but there are resources for people who want to continue learning and obtain job skills.

I’d like to end by saying I truly appreciate having the opportunity to put my skills and knowledge to work for you. It is not always easy but I do enjoy my job. The last year and a half has been rewarding and I look forward to continuing my work in making 2005 a successful and memorable year for our Nation.

Prayers and blessings,

George R. Lewis President